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Recently, it was reported that Goldman Sachs' new CEO David Solomon wants his executives to share aspects of their personal lives, as it will help them be more effective. This doesn't mean personal details that might be irrelevant, but the unique hobbies, joys and challenges that make them who they are.

Brian Levine, a Goldman partner, noted Solomon's belief that “leaders today have to be more vulnerable, they have to put themselves out there a lot more than they probably are comfortable doing."

This is part of a trend I am seeing in the workplace today. Driven strongly by millennials who favor authenticity, the workplace can be an emotionally supportive place, like a "work family,” though the sharing still needs to be cautiously vulnerable.

In my blog posts and in my latest book, I have written much about this courageous vulnerability as an ingredient for living boldly. In today’s workplace, companies that thrive seem to have a better demonstration of collaborative expectations, a value of transparency and emotional intelligence.

Yes, we can all think of examples of corporate stories or politicians’ peccadillos in the news that do not exemplify the best example of honest, open and trustworthy communication. Yet I do see in my coaching practice and those of other colleagues examples of companies today (large or small) embracing more honesty and respect for the individual in the workplace.

The bottom line is, the work still has to be done. But we can ensure we're not ignoring emotional adjustments to life's challenges. Rather than pretending the emperor has clothes, we can allow realness and honesty.

We often used to hear the phrase, “Don’t bring your work home with you,” which means don’t bring job frustrations home to your family. We've even heard the opposite from management, “Leave your personal life at the door." But today, personal challenges have a way to be shared and combatted.

Wellness programs, coaching, and training in resilience and emotional intelligence meet those challenges head-on with helpful strategies. Today's most successful companies know there must be an outlet for emotional vulnerability in the workplace, whether using an employee assistance program counselor, a coach or a manager with training in empathic listening. They know to provide access to services that will head off the personal issue before it grows into something larger and destructive.

I appreciate the complexities of being a leader or high-level executive in today’s high-pressure and fast-changing workplace. Executives like David Solomon, Apple's Tim Cook and others are embracing ways for their employees to be who they really are.

Is there a gap between who you say you are and how you reveal yourself in the world of work? We all have things we hide due to shame, embarrassment, guilt or even unexpressed dreams we may have given up on, and we often put those in our shadow. But the message I leave you with in work and outside of work is to acknowledge and own your (shadow) or it will own you. Be courageously vulnerable.

The workplace is no longer the 9 to 5 we used to view it as. It's at least one-third of our daily life. We are human beings, not human doings. More of our "being" needs to be present in the workplace, and we should encourage others to do so as well. It seems this strategy could even lead to better work results.